Sharpe's Command: The latest thrilling adventure from the best-selling master of historical fiction, the perfect gift for Christmas 2023

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Richard Sharpe, the most brilliant – but the most wayward – soldier in the British army, finds himself faced with an impossible task. Richard Sharpe, the central protagonist, accepts the command from General Hill to destroy a bridge, preventing the French from crossing.

Notwithstanding those minor points, the Sharpe books tend to be centred around successful British actions, which make them successful actions for Sharpe. There are plenty of other less important things that contradict the other books and the characters don't particularly seem like themselves either. I seriously doubt the standard infantryman would have as much know how as what they do in this book with the 'guns'.He's also got a different spelling here, where he used to be "Garrard", he's now "Gerrard", which initially led me to believe he was a different person, but no. A Rifleman is now portrayed as an 'elite' soldier that is near untouchable on the battlefield, that was never the case before. The colour frontispiece and black-and-white scratchboard illustrations capture Sharpe in the midst of the conflict, blood flying from his sabre as he fights for his life. We import first-rate saltpetre from India and the French are forced to scrape it from the walls of cesspits, poor devils. The author surprisingly gets a bit wrong on his own Sharpe chronology, including his rank and various characters, how much this will irk you will depend on how immersed you are in the journey of Sharpe and his timelines.

Haven't caught up with most of the original series so going to go back and revisit both the books and the show I think - this was such an enjoyable listen on borrowbox! Things pretty much go according to plan, and this brings the battle to Almaraz and the French-occupied fortresses on each of the banks of the Tagus River. The TV show always liked to put emphasis on Sharpe and his riflemen, but in the books, they were always a backdrop to the greater South Essex regiment, and the machinations of Wellington's army in Spain. If you enjoyed any of the previous Sharpe books I think you would like this book and if you have never read any of Bernard Cornwell’s books and are a fan of Military Historical Fiction then I would recommend this series.Featuring a fascinating introduction by Val McDermid and new illustrations by Juan Esteban Rodríguez, each copy has been signed by both the introducer and the illustrator. Ebooks fulfilled through Glose cannot be printed, downloaded as PDF, or read in other digital readers (like Kindle or Nook).